Starting a winery called BLACK CLOUD in British Columbia's Okanagan Valley.
The ups, the downs and the everyday experiences as we build our dream.

Monday, November 06, 2006

The Best Sparkling Wine in the World

The best sparkling wine hasn't been made yet. I think it will happen and when it does it will be from grapes grown in British Columbia and, most likely, the Fraser Valley just outside of Vancouver.The weather is perfect for bubble grapes. Long periods of mild weather, never really hot, never really cold. Plenty of rain, just like Champagne.What do you do when all your friends are growing beautiful grapes in warm, humidity-balanced climates and you're stuck with a a long, cool and wet growing season? You ferment your sad little berries once and then add some sugar and ferment them again in the bottle and then you spin, baby, spin!You tell people yarns about widows and their kitchen doors and blind monks who "see" stars. You get dressed up with no where to go and you stay dressed up and go everywhere. You tell people that drinking your bubbly wine will make you a better person because all the better people are drinking it.You make a wine that would have a hard time as a table wine into something luxurious and continue to spin.I just finished a couple days picking Pinot Noir and Chardonnay in Langley. This will end up as Township 7's Seven Stars in time for Christmas 2009. The grapes of early November were still unripe despite an "excellent" growing season. The Pinot gave up almost no colour at crush and the Chardonnay still had 90% green seeds. The hangtime flavours were complex and elegant.Ideal conditions for sparkling wine production.Somebody grab 100 to 200 acres of land in South Langley or Abbotsford on a gentle south facing slope about a mile or less from the border, do a really good job of soil reprofiling and plant only PN and Chard.And start spinning.In 15 years you'll have the best bubble in the world.

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You should know...

Hi everybody! I'm a professional wine maker with a background in journalism and restaurants. I grew up in North Surrey, BC, Canada in a neighbourhood call Bolivar Heights. I may be the only one who knew that was the actual name of the area. Most just called it North Whalley.

You can follow along the wine maker's journey by checking out the Black Cloud (my blog) and see if we get to create our own winery at some point. I promise to start updating more than I have in the past. I'm heavily influenced by social media and I can often lend a helpful hand to those looking to explore 'socmed' for the first time.

I'm the winemaker/keeper of the quality at Township 7 Vineyards & Winery since 2005 where the team and I have managed to continue creating outstanding red and white wines that have garnered over 100 local and international awards.

I'm also in the process of creating my own brand called Black Cloud . My wife Audralee Daum and me have spent the last few years building our tiny Pinot Noir exclusive label up to about 300 cases and we are now in the process of attracting investors to take us from a virtual to an actual winery.

I spend a lot of time on Twitter, Facebook, and other social media sites. Real-time exchange of ideas and relationship building is changing our lives faster then we know - in the wine world and in our everyday lives.

I'm married with 4 children. Melanie (32), Taylor (24), Jackson (21) and Ben (12). And now girl grandchild Bo, who's just a little over 2 years. (as of June , 2013)

You can find more out about me and my professional services here or by checking my list of links off to the right.

I live in Okanagan wine country, on the Naramata Bench, on the east side of Penticton, B.C., Canada. I love to ski and have since I was 12. I've recently started running again. Come on out here and cheer me on as I take on the Half!